India seeks support of Pacific Island nations on UN reforms

The President said India is delighted to host the 2nd Summit of the Forum for India- Pacific Islands Co-operation.

Prime Minister Narendra Modi will be attending the Forum for India-Pacific Islands Cooperation (FIPIC) Summit in Jaipur today.

Swaraj said it will be India’s endeavour to further strengthen and deepen its partnership with Pacific Islands countries.

He said, India Government attaches great importance to its relations with their friends in the Pacific Island Countries.

Mukherjee said they are also glad that the Indian Technical and Economic Cooperation Programme, the ICCR scholarships, the special training modules organized by the Foreign Service Institute and other such schemes are being availed by the Pacific Island citizens. It is the first summit of FIPIC that is held in India. An intergovernmental negotiating text is already on the table, for which we need your support.

Mukherjee also highlighted the challenges faced by India and pacific countries due to climate change.

She thanked the Pacific family for their support for India’s quest to become a permanent member in an expanded UN Security Council. “India has made considerable progress in the field of information technology, health, solar energy, disaster mitigation and management, agriculture – particularly coconut and coir and oil and natural gas exploration”, he added.

The FIPIC was formed in 2014 and the first summit was organised in Suva, Fiji.

Indian President Pranab Mukherjee welcomed all the visiting dignitaries at Rastrapati Bhavan on August 20, following which leaders visited Agra, on their way to Jaipur, for a tour of famous Taj Mahal.

The island nations participating in the event are – Cook Islands, Tonga, Tuvalu, Nauru, Kiribati, Vanuatu, Solomon Islands, Samoa, Niue, Palau, Micronesia, Marshall Islands, Fiji and Papua New Guinea.